Dubai's off-plan market has a reputation for risk that's largely outdated. Since 2008, the regulatory framework around off-plan sales has tightened materially. The protections exist — but only if your sale and purchase agreement (SPA) actually invokes them. Here are the four you should never sign without.
Oqood registration
Under Law No. 13 of 2008, every off-plan unit in Dubai must be registered in the Oqood interim registration system. Oqood records the buyer's interest until title is transferred at completion, which means the developer cannot sell the unit twice and the buyer's deposit is protected by registered ownership.
Your SPA should commit the developer to Oqood registration within a specific timeframe (typically 30 days from the sale contract). If it doesn't, that's a red flag.
The escrow account requirement
Law No. 8 of 2007 (the Escrow Law) requires every off-plan project in Dubai to have a dedicated escrow account at a regulated bank. Buyer payments go into the escrow account, and the developer can only draw funds against verified construction milestones audited by the Dubai Land Department.
Your SPA should name the escrow account, the trustee bank, and the milestone schedule. If payments are going anywhere else, walk away.
The completion timeline and delay clauses
Off-plan projects rarely complete on the original date. The question is what happens if they don't. Standard market practice is a grace period (often 12 months from the original handover date) before the buyer has any termination right.
Read the delay clauses carefully. Many SPAs allow extensions for force majeure, regulatory delay, or master-developer delay — broad enough that the buyer ends up bound for years. If the project is delayed materially beyond the SPA timeline plus grace period, Law No. 13 of 2008 gives the buyer rights, including in some cases a refund — but the SPA's specific delay terms govern first.
Anti-cancellation protections under Law No. 13 of 2008
If a buyer defaults on payments, the developer cannot simply terminate and keep the deposit. Law No. 13 of 2008 sets out a structured cancellation process — including notice periods and a sliding scale of how much the developer can retain, depending on how far the project has progressed.
The SPA may try to alter this process. Any clause that lets the developer cancel and keep more than the law allows is unenforceable, but again — the right time to push back is before signing.
An off-plan SPA is a long, technical document. The four points above are the load-bearing protections; everything else is detail. If your SPA invokes them clearly, the deal is structurally safe. If it tries to opt out, ask why.